Caolan Smyth challenges prison segregation while awaiting attempted murder trial

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

Caolan Smyth brought a High Court challenge over his segregation at Midlands Prison while awaiting trial for attempted murder. The proceedings were reported on 25 March 2020.

Smyth was charged with the attempted murder of James 'Mago' Gately, who survived after being shot five times at a Topaz garage in Clonshaugh, Co Dublin, on 10 May 2017. Smyth's trial was pending before the non-jury Special Criminal Court.

Smyth claimed he had been locked in his cell for 23 hours a day and could not access educational, vocational and recreational facilities. He said prison authorities had told him he was segregated for his own safety because of a threat to his life, an assessment he rejected.

Mr Justice Senan Allen was told that the parties had agreed a timetable that should allow the challenge to be heard in the coming weeks. He adjourned the matter to a date in April.